Authorizes the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to collectively honor the Montford Point Marines, U.S. Marine Corps, in recognition of their service during World War II. (Camp Montford Point, North Carolina, was the site for the training of the first African-American Marines.)
Provides for the Medal's display at the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the Montford Point Marines.
Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1527 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1527
To authorize the award of a Congressional gold medal to the Montford
Point Marines of World War II.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 8, 2011
Mrs. Hagan (for herself, Mr. Burr, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Roberts, Mr.
Schumer, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Udall of
Colorado, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mrs.
Boxer, and Mr. Graham) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the award of a Congressional gold medal to the Montford
Point Marines of World War II.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) on June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
issued Executive Order No. 8802, establishing the Fair
Employment Practices Commission and opening the doors for
African-American individuals to enlist in the United States
Marine Corps for the first time;
(2) the first African-American Marine recruits were trained
at Camp Montford Point, near the New River in Jacksonville,
North Carolina;
(3) on August 26, 1942, Howard P. Perry of Charlotte, North
Carolina, was the first African-American private to set foot on
Montford Point;
(4) during April 1943, the first African-American Marine
drill instructors took over as the senior drill instructors of
the 8 platoons then in training, including--
(A) Edgar R. Huff, 16th Platoon;
(B) Thomas Brokaw, 17th Platoon;
(C) Charles E. Allen, 18th Platoon;
(D) Gilbert H. Johnson, 19th Platoon;
(E) Arnold R. Bostic, 20th Platoon;
(F) Mortimer A. Cox, 21st Platoon;
(G) Edgar R. Davis, Jr., 22nd Platoon; and
(H) George A. Jackson, 23rd Platoon;
(5) African-American Marines of the 8th Ammunition Company
and the 36th Depot Company landed on the Island of Iwo Jima on
D-Day, February 19, 1945;
(6) the largest number of African-American Marines to serve
in combat during World War II took part in the seizure of
Okinawa in the Ryuku Islands, with some 2,000 African-American
Marines seeing action during the campaign;
(7) on November 10, 1945, Frederick C. Branch was the first
African-American Marine to be commissioned as a Second
Lieutenant, at the Marine Base in Quantico, Virginia;
(8) overall, 19,168 African-Americans served in the Marine
Corps in World War II;
(9) 16 years after the closure of Montford Point as a
training facility for African-American recruits, an
enterprising group of men, including original Montford Point
Master Sergeant Brooks E. Gray, planned a reunion of the ``Men
of Montford Point'', and on September 15, 1965, approximately
400 Montford Point Marines gathered at the Adelphi Hotel in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and laid the foundation for the
Montford Point Marine Association Inc.;
(10) organized as a nonmilitary, nonprofit entity, the
Montford Point Marine Association has as its main mission to
preserve the legacy of the first African-American Marines, and
today the Association has 36 chapters throughout the United
States;
(11) many of the first African-American Marines stayed in
the Marine Corps for a career, including Sergeant Major Edgar
R. Huff, 1 of the very first recruits at Montford Point;
(12) Sergeant Major Huff was the first African-American
Sergeant Major and the first African-American Marine to retire
with 30 years of service, which included combat in 3 major
conflicts, World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam
War;
(13) Sergeant Major Huff was awarded the Bronze Star medal
with a combat ``V'' for valor for saving the life of his radio
operator during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam;
(14) another original Montford Point Marine who saw
extensive combat action in both the Korean Conflict and the
Vietnam War was Sergeant Major Louis Roundtree, who was awarded
the Silver Star, 4 Bronze Stars, 3 Purple Hearts, and numerous
other personal and unit awards for his service during those
conflicts;
(15) on April 19, 1974, Montford Point was renamed ``Camp
Johnson'', after legendary Montford Point Marine Sergeant Major
Gilbert ``Hashmark'' Johnson; and
(16) the Montford Point Marine Association has several
memorials in place to perpetuate the memory of who they were
and what they accomplished, including--
(A) the Montford Point Marine Association Edgar R.
Huff Memorial Scholarship, which is offered annually
through the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation;
(B) the Montford Point Museum located at Camp
Johnson in Jacksonville, North Carolina;
(C) the Brooks Elbert Gray, Jr. Consolidated
Academic Instruction Facility, named in honor of
original Montford Point Marine and Montford Point
Marine Corps Association founder Master Gunnery
Sergeant Gray (dedicated on April 15, 2005, at Camp
Johnson, North Carolina); and
(D) Branch Hall, a building within the Officers
Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, which was named
in honor of Captain Frederick Branch during July of
1997.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold
medal of appropriate design to the Montford Point Marines, United
States Marine Corps, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated
service during World War II.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the
Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in
honor of the Montford Point Marines, United States Marine
Corps, under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to
the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be displayed as
appropriate and made available for research.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received
under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere,
particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the
Montford Point Marines, United States Marine Corps.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal
struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an
amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medal
authorized under section 2.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
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